How to raise yellow catfish? These practical farming tips are worth a look
Yellow catfish, also known as yellow catfish. It is an omnivorous bottom-dwelling fish that likes to gather in groups, inhabits the bottom layer of water, and feeds and moves under low-light conditions.
Fry rearing: the fry rearing pond has an area of 10-20 sq m, a water depth of 0.7 m, is rectangular, with a flat bottom, and is lined with ceramic tiles or smoothed with cement.
Newly hatched fry can be stocked at 5000-8000 per cubic meter of water; for fry 1-3 cm long, the stocking density is 3000-4000 per cubic meter of water; for fry about 3-5 cm long, the stocking rate is 2000-3000 per cubic meter of water.
Adhere to the “four fixed” feeding principle, and according to the size of the fish, feed natural feed and artificial compound micro-pellet feed or artificial mixed powdered feed.
For intensive fry rearing in flowing-water cement ponds, the stocking density is relatively high, and there is more debris and feces, so the dirt at the bottom of the pond must be regularly sucked out with a siphon. Check every day whether the fry are sick, and if disease is found, take timely measures to treat it.
Yellow catfish pond main-culture: the adult fish rearing pond for yellow catfish has an area within 3 mu, and a water depth of 1.5-2.0 m. The pond bottom should be sandy soil, and it must have strong water-retention and fertility-retention capacity. Escape-prevention nets must be installed at the water inlet and outlet to prevent the fish from escaping and to prevent carp and crucian carp from mixing into the pond.
Level the bottom of the pond, and dig a pit about 50 sq m at the bottom near the drainage outlet, 20-25 cm deeper than the rest of the area, to facilitate harvesting of adult fish. Before releasing fry, disinfect with quicklime and remove wild and miscellaneous fish.
The stocking density is generally 5000-6000 fry per mu for fry about 3 cm in size; for fry about 4-5 cm in size, the stocking rate is 4500-5500 per mu.
The feed for adult yellow catfish includes two types: pure animal feed and artificial compound feed. Pure animal feed: including small miscellaneous fish, shrimp, aquatic and terrestrial earthworms, etc. Artificial compound feed requires crude protein of 38-40%.
Adhere to the “four fixed” and “four look” feeding principles. The daily feeding amount is determined according to the relationship between the total body weight of the yellow catfish in the pond and the water temperature. When the water temperature is 10-15°C, the feeding amount accounts for 1.5-1.8% of body weight; when the water temperature is 15-20°C, it accounts for 2-2.5% of body weight; when the water temperature is 20-36°C, it accounts for 4-5% of body weight.
Do a good job in daily pond management such as feed management, water quality management, and fish disease prevention and control. Patrol the pond frequently, weed and remove dirt frequently, scoop out sick and dead fish frequently, and keep records frequently.
Yellow catfish cage culture: in cage culture of yellow catfish, you can either set up large floating cages in large water bodies for rearing, or set up small cages in ponds for rearing. Here, we mainly introduce the technique of rearing in small cages set up in ponds.
The pond where the cages are set up requires sufficient water source, fresh water quality, an area of 5-10 mu, and a water depth of 2-2.4 m. Before setting up the cages, the pond must be thoroughly cleared and disinfected with quicklime or bleaching powder and other drugs.
The cages are made of polyethylene netting, with a mesh size selected as 1-1.5 cm, and the cage size is generally 4×2×2 m. The cages are fixed into shape with 6 bamboo poles and inserted into the pond. The installed area of the cages must not exceed 50% of the total pond area.
The stocking time for yellow catfish is generally from early June to the end of July, the stocking size is generally above 5 cm, and the stocking density is generally 500-600 yellow catfish fry above 5 cm per square meter. When stocking the fry, strict fish body disinfection must be carried out to kill parasites and pathogenic bacteria on the body surface.
Feed feeding. Feed must be given strictly according to the “four fixed” feeding method, and spoiled and deteriorated feed must not be fed. Pure animal feed can be directly kneaded into balls and fed; compound feed can be fed by the method of small amounts and multiple times. Feed 2-3 times a day, with the feeding amount being 4-5% of fish body weight.
The pond where the cages are set up must be regularly replenished with fresh water, and quicklime must be regularly splashed over the whole pond to improve water quality. Patrol the cages twice a day, morning and evening, to check whether the cages are damaged; inside the cages, regularly splash a mixture of 0.04% iodized table salt and 0.04% baking soda for disinfection; promptly remove residual feed; regularly clean the netting to maintain good water exchange in the cages.